[10/09/08 - 08:20 AM]VH1 Heads Back to Rehab with DR. Drew Pinsky for a Second Season of 'Celebrity Rehab with DR. Drew' The new season features Sean Stewart, Amber Smith, Rodney King, Nikki McKibbon, Steven Adler and Tawny Kitaen.

[via press release from VH1]

VH1 Heads Back to Rehab with Dr. Drew Pinsky for a Second Season of 'Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew'

Groundbreaking Project Returns to Help Additional Celebrities In a
Series Set To Premiere on VH1 Thursday, October 23 at 10pm*

NEW YORK, Oct. 9 -- VH1 has once again partnered with Dr.
Drew Pinsky for a second season of the hit reality series "Celebrity Rehab
with Dr. Drew." The series, consisting of eight one-hour episodes, is
slated to premiere Thursday, October 23 at 10pm.

Similar to the first cycle, the second season of "Celebrity Rehab with
Dr. Drew" will follow the real-life experiences of celebrity patients
undergoing detoxification and treatment at a center in the Los Angeles
area. The show will follow Jeff Conaway as he checks back into rehab after
a series of back surgeries, setbacks and subsequent reliance on pain
medications. Joining him in rehab are Sean Stewart (Sons of Hollywood),
Amber Smith (model/actress), Rodney King, Nikki McKibbon (American Idol),
Steven Adler (Guns n Roses) and Tawny Kitaen (Actress). Gary Busey, who is
13 years sober from his cocaine addiction, will also be joining the cast to
take the journey with the others and to share his experiences on the
recovery process.

The series will chronicle the patients' intensive 21-day program with
both group and one-on-one therapy and non-traditional therapies like art
and music. Returning to the show to help Dr. Drew are drug counselor Bob
Forrest and resident technician Shelly Sprague who have each spent years on
both sides of the rehab fence. Dr. Drew is also bringing in some additional
prominent physicians to help him give the patients supplementary one-on-one
care. The patients' families will also be more involved with their recovery
programs and, in some cases, will receive treatment themselves. After they
completed the program, the patients will be strongly encouraged to continue
their treatment in a sober living facility or treatment center for at least
three months at VH1's expense.

Dr. Drew is a highly respected practicing MD and assistant clinical
professor at KECK USC School of Medicine, who will once again give viewers
an unflinching look at exactly how the rehab process works and what it
feels like for participants. Dr. Drew hopes to use his celebrity patients
to humanize the process and show viewers that treatment is a viable way to
break the cycle of addiction.

"Over the course of the first season we were inundated with positive
feedback about the series from our viewers and those in the rehab
community. Dr Drew is a powerful, positive force for those seeking recovery
and I am quite simply amazed not only by the quality of his medical care,
but for how much Drew and his team truly care about the people they are
treating," said Jeff Olde, Executive Vice President, Original Programming
and Production, VH1. "This series is a deeply transformative emotional
experience in front of the cameras and behind the scenes for everyone
involved and I believe it resonates with the viewers because the stakes are
so high and the journey is so very human."

While most people know Dr. Drew as the host of the syndicated radio
show Loveline and the MTV show of the same name, Dr. Drew is a medical
doctor on staff at Huntington Hospital, a board certified addictionologist
and service director of the Chemical Dependency Program/Residential
Treatment Center, where he has been treating addicts for over 20 years.
Although he is an associate professor of clinical psychiatry at the KECK
USC School of Medicine, he is not a psychologist or psychiatrist. His book,
Cracked: Putting Broken Lives Together Again (Harper-Collins,) is all about
what treating addicts is like from a caretaker's perspective. Dr. Drew
co-authored the first academic study on celebrities and narcissism. The
study was published in the Journal of Research in Personality (Elsevier) in
September 2006, and is the first systematic, empirical scholarly study of
celebrity personality. Dr. Drew can also be heard during the day Monday
thru Friday on the nationally syndicated radio show "Dr. Drew Live."

As it did in the first season, VH1 will present on-air PSA's about
addiction and the possibilities of recovery as well as online resources for
those in need of assistance.

Additionally, VH1.com will launch a sneak peek of the first episode on
October 17 before the on-air premiere. Subsequent episodes will be
available on VH1.com following their on-air premiere.

"Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew" is executive produced by John Irwin and
Damian Sullivan for Irwin Entertainment. Dr. Drew Pinsky and Howard Lapides
are also executive producing. Jeff Olde, Jill Holmes, and Noah Pollack are
executive producers for VH1.

VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter
to them most with TV series, specials, live events, exclusive online
content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 95 million
households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital channels and
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broadband video on VH1.com. Connect with VH1 at VH1.com.